good company...

This week has been a little piece of wonderfulness. It's my last night of puppy/house-sitting, and I'm snuggled up in piles of beautifully patterned sheets, quilts, and duvet (hey, I like heavy covers. Plus it's SNOWING outside and I'm sure to be warm). There's a dim, warm glow from the small antique lamp adorning the night-stand, and I'm ten minutes away from dreamland (as long as the dreams aren't as strange as last night's. Or the night before that). Even though it snowed today (and keeps on snowing) it seemed just about perfect. I had breakfast, read, played the piano (they have a piano here... ahhh), and read some more. Then I took a wonderfully rejuvenating nap. The living room was bright with multiple the windows reflecting the brightness of the snow and whispery flakes falling all around. The house was quiet and peaceful even though I could see the trees blowing haphazardly with the forceful wind and unexpected gusts. The puppy snuggled up extra close and we snoozed contentedly, letting time tick by casually - such a rare treat. This week has been fun, and although I'm ready for home, the time away was good. Necessary. And it's been fun. The mother of the home loves to cook, and she has the greatest dishes - about anything you could want to prepare, she has a beautiful pan/pot/bowl to present it in. So Thursday a few friends came over for dinner. They were graciously patient, as the meal was almost two hours behind schedule. Eeks! That's so terrible, I know. I obviously grossly underestimated how long everything would take to prepare. We even got started right around 5pm, and I had someone helping me! Nevertheless, the guests brought over delicious wine and we chatted while I finished creating the evening's meal. On the menu:

Hor'devours
- traditional bruschetta
- bacon wrapped apicots with sage

Main
- Caesar salad
- chicken wrapped spinach and mozarella
- gnocchi with sauteed zucchini and squash tossed with pesto

Dessert
- apple pie a la mode

So, the items didn't necessarily come from the same food category, but they all melded together well.

Erica and Gerard even brought over flowers to cheer up the table setting. Erica has her own floral company, The Flower Girl, and I'm just the lucky friend who gets to enjoy her talents. Both her and Gerard chose orange arrangements with green accents. The displays completely lit up the room long after dinner was over. And the cats like to eat the flowers too - seems to be a two for one deal.




Finally, and quickly, here's a peek at my office this week. I love all the light this house receives - all the white. Everything seemed so bright and fresh. And the sweet little puppy sure made things nice as well.